Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes and convict traffickers using Article 444 of the criminal code. * Allocate sufficient resources and staff to the Anti-trafficking Unit to proactively investigate trafficking and assign specialized officers on trafficking in regional offices. * Ensure the location of the shelter for child victims is secure and confidential. * Allocate sufficient resources for victim protection, establish standards and guidelines for victim protection, and continue training new shelter staff to provide specialized victim assistance. * Amend licensing procedures to remove the requirement for NGOs seeking to provide victim services to own the property of its operations and incorporate mechanisms to revoke or suspended licenses in order to investigate credible reports of misconduct. * Increase proactive identification of trafficking victims by screening for trafficking among individuals in commercial sex, migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees, seasonal workers, and other at-risk populations. * Provide advanced training to judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement on trafficking investigations and prosecutions, including collecting evidence on subtle forms of coercion or the use of specialized investigative techniques. * Increase access to justice and victim-witness assistance for victims participating in criminal justice proceedings, including access to experienced attorneys and Romani interpreters. * Integrate Romani groups into decision-making processes regarding victim protection. * Create and finance an accessible compensation fund and inform victims of their right to compensation during legal proceedings. * Consistently enforce strong regulations and oversight of labor recruitment companies, including by eliminating recruitment fees charged to migrant workers and holding fraudulent labor recruiters criminally accountable.

The government increased law enforcement efforts. Article 444 of the criminal code criminalized labor trafficking and sex trafficking and prescribed penalties ranging from one to ten years’ imprisonment, which were sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. Police investigated nine new cases with 19 suspects (one sex trafficking case and eight labor trafficking cases), compared with three new cases with eight suspects in 2022. Authorities prosecuted 16 defendants (3 sex trafficking and 13 for labor trafficking), compared with six defendants in 2022. Courts convicted three traffickers (one for sex trafficking and two for labor trafficking), compared with no convictions in 2022. Judges sentenced one trafficker to one year imprisonment, one trafficker to two years’ imprisonment, and another trafficker to 10 years’ imprisonment. The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes; however, corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns. In 2022, the government initiated an investigation of alleged misconduct by a management employee of a former anti-trafficking shelter for “negligence at work” and “abuse and unlawful deprivation of liberty;” the investigation remained ongoing.

The government maintained a multi-disciplinary operational task force to identify and investigate trafficking that met quarterly. In 2022, the government reorganized the Anti-trafficking Unit to a sub-group within the National Police Directorate (NPD) Department for Suppression of Serious Crime (DSSC). This reorganization reduced the Anti-trafficking Unit’s ability to assign specialized officers for trafficking cases in local police offices, according to experts, who reported the DSSC’s jurisdiction also included terrorism, weapons trafficking, and drug trafficking. The Anti-trafficking Unit inspected bars, nightclubs, commercial sex venues, escort agencies, and businesses suspected of illegal employment practices; however, the Anti-trafficking Unit severely lacked resources and capacity with only five officers covering all trafficking cases. Basic State Prosecutor’s Offices (BSPO) relied almost exclusively on victim testimony with little corroborating evidence; GRETA reported authorities prosecuted possible sex trafficking cases as crimes that prescribed significantly lower penalties than those available under the trafficking law, such as “brokering in prostitution” (Article 210), due to a lack of sufficient evidence. Experts reported some prosecutors stopped potential trafficking investigations when they secured enough evidence to prosecute under other offenses and did not investigate for more subtle forms of coercion or seek additional evidence through specialized investigative techniques. Some law enforcement and social workers justified cases of potential forced child begging, forced labor, and forced criminality involving Roma as traditional cultural practices and customs rather than investigating for evidence of trafficking. Case referral procedures required the Higher State Prosecutor’s Office (HSPO) to initially review all trafficking-related cases and refer cases not deemed trafficking to BSPO. The government cooperated with U.S. authorities to investigate a sex trafficking case. The government, with financial and technical assistance from international organizations and a foreign donor, provided training to – and maintained institutionalized training programs for – police, prosecutors, and judges on various anti-trafficking issues.

The government increased victim protection efforts. The government identified 15 victims, compared with seven victims in 2022. Of the 15 victims, traffickers exploited five victims in sex trafficking, seven in labor trafficking, and three in forced criminality; five were women, six were girls, and four were boys. First responders carried out the preliminary identification of possible victims and then contacted police, who recognized the individuals as potential victims. The government reported screening foreign nationals and individuals in commercial sex for trafficking indicators; however, police and prosecutors generally did not seek to proactively identify victims, according to observers, who reported most ongoing trafficking cases were referred by NGOs rather than initiated by law enforcement. GRETA reported continued gaps in screening and identifying victims among asylum-seekers and migrants, including a lack of identification efforts during the summer tourism season to screen the influx of seasonal workers from neighboring countries. The government maintained the Team for Formal Identification of Trafficking Victims (TFITV) to assess and officially recognize potential victims and coordinate victim care and placement. TFITV used SOPs for identifying and referring victims to services, which eliminated the requirement for victims to cooperate with law enforcement to receive services. TFITV comprised a doctor, a psychologist, an NGO representative, a police officer, a social worker from the Center for Social Work, and a representative from the TIP office; TFITV met 28 times (22 in 2022). The government, with financial and technical assistance from international organizations, provided training on victim identification and assistance to police, labor inspectors, health workers, social workers, and municipality officials.

In 2022, experts and the Ombudsman’s Office published credible allegations of abuse by an employee of the government-funded, NGO-run anti-trafficking shelter for women and girls, including physical violence against victims, intimidation, and blackmail. While the employee officially resigned in August 2022, the employee reportedly maintained influence in the shelter’s operations. Following the misconduct allegations, civil society and international organizations ceased victim referrals to the anti-trafficking shelter, but the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MLSW) reported the inability to immediately suspend the license and funding of the shelter and continued to allocate funds; the shelter accommodated at least two child victims even after credible allegations were known. The MLSW did not renew the shelter’s grant after it ended in December 2022, and the government adopted a decision to open a temporary government-run shelter for child trafficking victims (the shelter for child victims). In March 2024, the government finished renovating a building for the shelter for child victims, hired and trained staff, furnished the building, and allocated €60,000 ($66,300) for operational costs. However, the new shelter for child victims was co-located on the premises of a juvenile detention center for children with behavioral issues and civil society expressed concern with the security and confidentiality of the child trafficking victims due to its location. In March 2024, the government also licensed an NGO-run shelter to provide accommodation and support services to adult victims and allocated €50,000 ($55,250) for operational costs and €250.00 ($280) per victim per month assisted at the shelter. The new shelter for child victims had the capacity to accommodate 10 children, and the NGO-run shelter had the capacity to accommodate three adult victims. While the government renovated the shelter for child victims and solicited and licensed an NGO-run shelter for adults, there was no specialized assistance available for trafficking victims during most of the reporting period. A shelter for child victims of violence accommodated child victims, Center for Support and Families provided general support services, and an NGO-run shelter for domestic violence victims provided accommodation and support to adult victims; the government reported all identified victims received support. The government reported licensing procedures required NGOs seeking to open a shelter or provide victim services to own the property of its operations, which prevented qualified NGOs from applying for a license.

The law allowed foreign victims to acquire temporary residence permits from three months to one year, with the ability to extend; no victims applied for temporary residence permits in 2023 or 2022. The law required victim-witness assistance, free legal aid, and a psychologist to participate in prosecutions; 10 victims participated in prosecutions (seven in 2022). However, observers continued to report the government assigned lawyers with little or no experience to victims, including lawyers with experience in only civil proceedings and not criminal proceedings. The government maintained support services for victims and witnesses in 15 first instance courts and two high courts that provided assistance during proceedings, including legal and logistical assistance, and measures to prevent re-traumatization. Authorities hired interpreters when necessary from an official list of court interpreters, although the list did not include a Romani interpreter. The law allowed for restitution in criminal cases, but judges have never issued restitution or seized assets or property from traffickers to allocate towards restitution and/or compensation. Similarly, courts have not awarded any victims compensation in civil proceedings; civil proceedings frequently last two to five years, which discouraged victims from seeking such compensation. The law on compensation of victims, intended to provide financial assistance to victims of violent crimes, will not go into effect until Montenegro becomes a member of the EU.

The government increased prevention efforts. The government implemented the national anti-trafficking strategy for 2019-2024 and adopted the NAP for 2023. The government maintained a coordination body for monitoring implementation of the strategy and NAP, which was composed of NPD, HSPO, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Justice, other relevant ministries, and several local NGOs; the coordination body met four times (twice in 2022). The national coordinator led the TIP office and overall anti-trafficking efforts and chaired the trafficking in persons working group, which consisted of government agencies, civil society organizations, and the international community. The government allocated €108,080 ($119,430) to the TIP office, compared with €100,806 ($111,390) in 2022. The TIP office published limited information on anti-trafficking efforts but maintained a cooperation agreement between law enforcement, relevant ministries, and six NGOs to strengthen anti-trafficking efforts. The government continued to award five NGOs a total of €40,000 ($44,200) to raise public awareness on trafficking in 2023, the same amount as in 2022. The TIP office, with financial support from a foreign donor and international organizations, continued their multi-year awareness campaign targeting the public, children, women, and students. The government continued to finance an NGO-run hotline for trafficking victims; the hotline received 2,282 calls but most calls focused on obtaining information or reports of other forms of violence (2,552 in 2022). The government did not have procedures in place to regulate labor recruitment agencies. The labor inspectorate, which was trained on indicators of trafficking, inspected businesses and identified workers with contract violations; the labor inspectorate conducted 6,345 inspections but it did not identify any victims or initiate any criminal cases (the government did not provide information on inspections for 2022). The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts.

As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Montenegro, and traffickers exploit victims from Montenegro abroad. Traffickers are predominantly men and members of organized criminal groups operating in the Western Balkans. Victims of sex trafficking identified in Montenegro are primarily women and girls from Montenegro, neighboring Balkan countries, and, to a lesser extent, other countries in Eastern Europe. Traffickers exploit victims in the hospitality industry, including bars, restaurants, nightclubs, and cafes. Traffickers exploit children, particularly Roma, Ashkali, and Balkan Egyptians, in forced begging. Romani girls from Montenegro reportedly have been sold into marriages and forced into domestic servitude in Romani communities in Montenegro and, to a lesser extent, in Albania, Germany, and Kosovo. Traffickers exploit migrant workers from Türkiye in construction, and migrant workers from neighboring countries are vulnerable to forced labor, particularly during the summer tourism season. Transnational organized criminal groups exploit some Montenegrin women and girls in sex trafficking in other Balkan countries. In 2020, traffickers recruited workers from Taiwan, confiscated their passports and restricted their movement, and set up a call center where they forced the victims from Taiwan to make fraudulent calls.